Kindergarten!

I was flooded with so many emotions as I took Brett to North Creek Elementary on his very first day of Kindergarten; excitement, pride, anxiety, and even a little bit of sadness. I've been a stay at home mom to my sweet boy for almost 6 years now, and although we got to experience some time apart the past 2 years during preschool, full day kindergarten is a whole different experience, for both of us. We have done so much together over the past 5 and a half years, and I am ready -ready to let go and watch him thrive independently, ready to watch him grow in a whole different way...and I know he is ready too. But it's still hard. We talked about Kindergarten a lot this summer, worked on his writing skills, practiced writing his name in lower case letters instead of all capitals, and he even learned a few words and began reading to us. I was sure to follow his lead though and didn't push him too much. I wanted his enthusiasm for school to continue, and I didn't want to smother him with too many academics. I knew that would come soon enough, and what I wanted most out of this last summer before we officially had a "grade-schooler" was to make some of the best memories together, just the two of us. Because, as you know, Kindergarten is not the only change in our lives......soon Brett will be a big brother and our days spent just the two of us will be no longer. Our dream of giving Brett a sibling is coming soon, and I couldn't be more happy, excited, or grateful....but I will still miss my time with my first born, the boy that made me a mother. Oh how I love him so!

Brett has now been a kindergartner for a week and half, and he is thriving. The structure of school is just what he needed and he loves it. Every day after school, I have picked up a smiling, happy boy. I try not to ask too many questions right after school, but instead let him talk when he is ready. Usually little tidbits come out throughout the evening, and we always ask about each other's day during dinner and go over his school work that he brings home. And let me just tell you, seeing the excitement and enthusiasm on his face when he shows us his work is priceless. Yesterday afternoon while Brett was playing with his legos, he asked me to read him "the shape and color book". I thought he meant one of the books we already have so I asked him which one and where it was. He then looked at me with a huge smile and said "it's in my backpack! I made it!" I quickly double checked his backpack, thinking I had already unloaded everything...and there it was, stuffed in to the smaller section of his bag where I hadn't looked before. As I read the book to him, his smile lit up his face as he told me over and over how he had put the whole book together all by himself. He had cut out different colored shapes for each page, clearly doing his best work (cutting right on the lines), and he had carefully colored the rainbow on the front page, a big feat for a kid that doesn't always like to color :-) He was so proud, and so was I -  not just of his work, but of how well he has handled this huge transition, how he is trying his best and so eager to learn, and how even when he's been nervous, he has forged ahead and done what he needs to do. And yes, I know there will be challenges throughout the year (and there's already been a couple minor ones when it comes to getting up in the morning... "I don't want to get up! It's too early!") , but right now, in this moment, things are just how they should be, and for that, I couldn't be happier.